Head to head

Babolat Xalt 16 (1.30) vs Wilson Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25)

Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is string friction, where Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) is 16 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Babolat

Xalt 16 (1.30)

Nylon · 16 ga

Wilson

Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25)

Nylon · 17 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
16533rd pct
15823rd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
167th pct
154th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9597th pct
9596th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.365th pct
5.569th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.48974th pct
0.46664th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09250th pct
0.08534th pct

Bars are percentile against all 788 strings, and the marked side is the one that measures better, which is not always the one you want. A firmer bed is worse for your elbow and better for your control, and no measurement knows which of those you came for.

Which one wins, by problem

Each string's standing on the site's rankings, out of every measured string in the database. This is where a comparison stops being arithmetic and starts being a decision.

Swapping between them: what tension?

Bed stiffness is published at one reference tension, so the only honest conversion is to scale it. These are starting points from 52 lb, not prescriptions. The calculator takes your own tension.

Coming from Xalt 16 (1.30) at 52 lb

String Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) at 54.3 lb 24.6 kg

Coming from Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) at 52 lb

String Xalt 16 (1.30) at 49.8 lb 22.6 kg

Hybrid: what if you used both?

Estimated, not measured. No hybrid combination has been tested as a bed. These figures are the two strings' own lab measurements weighted by how much of the bed each one actually is. Treat them as a guide to which way a pairing moves, never as lab data.

Xalt 16 (1.30) mains / Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) crosses

Stiffness29th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss7th pct · 1 measured
Energy return97th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential66th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite72nd pct · 1 measured
String friction47th pct · 1 measured

Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) mains / Xalt 16 (1.30) crosses

Stiffness27th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss6th pct · 1 measured
Energy return96th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential68th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite66th pct · 1 measured
String friction37th pct · 1 measured

Open this in the hybrid builder

Which goes dead first?

Estimated from tension loss, which is the only thing the database measures about ageing. This is when the bed stops playing the way you strung it, not when the string breaks.

Xalt 16 (1.30)

~38 hours of play

Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25)

~39 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Babolat Xalt 16 (1.30) Nylon16$24.0016516955.30.4890.092
Wilson Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) Nylon17$5.9515815955.50.4660.085

Add a third string Xalt 16 (1.30) in full Synthetic Gut Power 17 (1.25) in full